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Simon Bolivar/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim is taking pictures of a large statue of a man on a horse. Moby is looking up at the statue. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, we did see a statue of him in Colombia. MOBY: Beep? TIM: And in Ecuador. And Peru, too. So what's your point? Moby holds a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, who is Simón Bólívar, and why is he such a big deal all over South America? Thanks, Lucie. TIM: Ah, good question, Lucie! Uh, you too, Moby. Simón Bólívar led a series of South American revolutions against Spanish rule in the early 1800s. An image shows Simón Bólívar. TIM: As a direct result of his skill as a writer, speaker, and military commander, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama all won their independence from Spain. An image shows a map of South America and Central America and the countries Tim names. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, he's like the George Washington of half of South America. In fact, Washington was one of his big heroes growing up. An image shows Bólívar next to a painting of George Washington. A heart appears above Bólívar's head. TIM: He was born to an aristocratic family in the Spanish colony of Venezuela in 1783. An image shows a Bólívar as a baby being held by his mother. TIM: Like many wealthy South Americans, Bólívar was educated in Europe. In Spain, he studied the principles of the Enlightenment, the eighteenth-century movement that saw human reason as the highest good. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Enlightenment philosophers focused on revolutionary ideas, like democracy and the rights of individuals. The American and French revolutions were inspired by these ideas. Bólívar believed that, like the American colonies, South America needed to throw off foreign rule. Side by side images show a painting of George Washington and his men crossing the Delaware River in a boat with an American flag, and French revolutionaries carrying weapons and a tattered French flag. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, it wasn't that Spain mistreated its colonies, but to Bólívar and many others, it was unfair for millions to be ruled by a distant king or queen. At the time, Spain had territories throughout the Caribbean, North America, Mexico, Central America, and South America. An image shows a map of the Spanish territories in the Americas and the Caribbean. TIM: While traveling in Italy, Bólívar famously pledged never to rest until South America was free from Spanish oppression. An image shows Bólívar in Italy. TIM: He returned home at just the right time in 1807. Spain was busy fighting against French rule in the Peninsular War, and revolutionaries across South America decided they'd never have a better chance. Bólívar joined the Venezuelan resistance and quickly moved up its ranks. Recognizing his gift for speaking, resistance leaders sent him on a diplomatic mission to London in 1810. An animation shows Bólívar speaking in London. TIM: On his return, he delivered a stirring speech for Venezuelan independence, in front of the national congress. An image shows Bólívar speaking to the Venezuelan national congress. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, Venezuela declared independence in 1811, but achieving that independence wasn't automatic. It would take another nine years of intense fighting, as control of Venezuela went back and forth between the revolutionaries and royalists, who remained loyal to the Spanish crown. During this time, Bólívar became an officer in the revolutionary army. An animation shows Bólívar dressed in a military uniform riding a horse. TIM: Whenever Spanish forces regained control, he fled to neighboring countries where he used his talent with a pen to gather allies and money. An animation shows Bólívar's hand writing a note with a quill pen. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, like in 1812 he fled to Cartagena in the territory of New Grenada, that's modern day Colombia. In 1813, Bólívar returned to Venezuela, backed by military aid from New Grenada. An image shows a map of New Granada and Venezuela. An arrow points to the city of Cartagena in New Granada. TIM: He was vastly outnumbered by Spanish forces in most battles but he still managed to recapture Caracas, the capital city. Bólívar was hailed throughout Venezuela as El Libertador, or the liberator. An animation shows people cheering and throwing roses as Bólívar rides on a horse through the city. TIM: His victories piled up throughout Venezuela, New Grenada, and what's now Ecuador, but the biggest came in 1819, at the Battle of Boyacá. An image shows citizens and soldiers fighting with swords and bayonets. Some soldiers are on the ground. A huge crowd with swords and bayonets are behind them in shadow. TIM: It drove the Spanish out of New Granada and marked the beginning of the end of the Spanish Empire in South America. Over the next few years, the last of the Spanish forces in Venezuela and Ecuador were defeated. A new nation called Gran Colombia, made up of all the newly freed territories, was founded in 1821 with Bólívar as president. A Gran Colombian flag is shown over the newly liberated areas. It has a yellow, a blue, and a red horizontal stripes, with a shield and crown of laurels in the top yellow area. TIM: After meeting with a guy called José de San Martín, who had already liberated Argentina, Chile, and southern Peru, Bólívar marched his army into Peru and drove the remaining Spanish forces from the continent. With that, all of South America had finally achieved independence. An image shows Bólívar shaking hands with José de San Martín and an animation shows Bólívar's soldiers marching. TIM: In 1825, a new nation was created by the people of Upper Peru, and they named it Bolivia in Bólívar's honor. An image shows a map of Bolivia. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, Bólívar stuck to the principles of the Enlightenment his entire life, and he worked hard to establish a league of strong democratic governments throughout South America. But over the next few years, regional disputes, political rivalries, and civil wars shattered the unity Bólívar worked so hard to achieve. This eventually led to the breakup of Gran Colombia. Heartbroken, Bólívar resigned his presidency and in 1830 he died of tuberculosis. MOBY: Beep. Moby takes pictures of the Bólívar statue. TIM: Oh, so now you're impressed. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts